Sleep Deprivation Performance and Accidents - Essay Example

?Running head: SLEEP DEPRIVATION PERFORMANCE AND ACCIDENTS Sleep Deprivation Performance and Accidents Insert Insert Insert Instructor’s Name 3 April 2011 Sleep Deprivation Performance and Accidents Introduction Regardless of the fact that the functions of sleep are not clear when one considers scientific empirical evidence, its influence on performance due to being deprived of it has impacts in both cognitive functions and the functioning of the motor. Even though there are differences in study scope and the areas that have been examined, sleep deprivation has been known to cause low performance at work and cause accidents (Scott et al, 2006). Good sleep is a requirement for sustaining life, and insufficient sleep has been indeed linked and associated to grave health risks and increasing the chances of accidents at the workplace, besides causing poor performance at work. The danger is even more compounded with the fact that people are often unaware of the fact that the failure to sleep increases the possibility and probability of accidents (Gregory, 2009) This paper seeks to address the importance of sleep, factors that cause sleep variations as well as the relation of this to work performance. Further, the paper illuminates on the relation of sleep build-up and sleep deprivation on accidents propensity, as well touching on the models and other conditions such as apnea in relation to work and injuries at the workplace. Sleep and Accidents Generally, accident that is caused as a result of sleep is regarded as accident caused by human error, and often times the impact of it is correlated to the task that was being carried out. Therefore, in an event where there is more speed in terms of performing the task, then the degree of injury is normally aggravated (Gregory, 2009). This therefore means that skiing are often more serious accidents than walking accidents. Accidents could even be more aggravated in areas where machines are many and work is machinated, in say Agricultural Industry, where there are a lot of different tasks and models and types of machines (Gregory, 2009). Broadly speaking, accidents causing injuries happen in the line of human interactions with the machines at the work place. Often times, these machines include cars, trucks, and others such as tractors among many others (Gregory, 2009). The manner in which a worker interacts with the machines is highly associated with his level of maturity, and accidents normally occur due to use of alcohol, use of other drugs such as caffeine or ‘build up of sleep debt which is the prime focus of this paper (Scott et al, 2006). One is then likely to ask the question: how can sleep deprivation cause accidents, and how is their impacts measured? The answer is that, while sleep and alcohol correlation is easy to measure, the former, accidents and sleep, has been largely difficult. The general agreement is however in the duration of sleep. Duration of sleep is sometimes as long as 6 weeks, and the risks is often analyzed within the confluence of the time of the day one sleeps and the amount therein. Further, it is also correlated to the amount of sleep one had the night before (Scott et al, 2006). Broad Factors that Impair Sleep and the effects Factors that impair sleep have been recognized as use of caffeine, talking radio, cold and other distracting activities. It is therefore often seen with students who stay awake at night having to dose during lectures. Another example worthy noting is the fact that Pilots stayed awake in the course of dogfights in World War II and fell asleep, thus crashed on their flight back to base (Gregory, 2009). Sleep Management and the Risks Involved Psychologists have identified two types of risks associated with sleep management. One is low performance or loss of it altogether when one falls asleep at the workplace. This often happens when the individual is “un-stimulated and bored even without sleep debt” (Gregory, 2009). The second one is observed in the decreased performance at the work place in line with build-up to sleep debt. This often slows down work and hand-eye activities are the most affected. In this, the process of making decisions is slowed and it becomes an uphill task. Moreover, the astuteness, efficiency, as well as effectiveness is highly affected (Gregory, 2009). Sleep deprivation is also associated with high cases of anxiety and depression (Babson et al, 2010). In general, people who tend to sleep less or have a debt of sleep, seem to have low mood for activity, while they encounter persistent anxious arousal, sometimes leading to distress. The efficiencies are affected in two ways. The first is in the stimulated conditions, for example, carrying out tasks under a struggle, stress, or in the situations where one experiences phobia. The second is for the passive tasks such as paying attention when being taught or when instructions are being given at the work place, or in school or when driving a car (Plaford, 2000). Many times however, efficiency in performance is observable in a continuous process where one is on and off in the sleep, often times called fishing in some quarters, leading to an abrupt and absolute loss in performance at the workplace. This is more dangerous when one’s job description and activities therein are routinized (Plaford, 2000). Sleep Injury Model Gregory et al (2004) observe that efficiency reduction and loss associated with inactive performance at the work place can be envisaged using the sleep injury model. This model is used to measure this within the confluence of activities or tasks within impairment coming from activities related to sleep, alcohol use among other issues (Gaillard and Steyers, 1993). The Sleep Model is used to measure and predict the amount of sleep one gets and the counter measures involved-associated with ‘alertness from sleeping studies in sleep laboratory as observed by Froberge in 1977. Indeed, the Sleep Model has been viewed as having reliable base for predicting odds ration using the injury theory (Plaford, 2000). Based on measurements that had been used for alcohol association in performance and accidents, the sleep model had authoritatively, by some sort of default, used in predicating ratios in for sleep management (Shneerson, 2000). For instance, citing a person who has had sleeps related accidents in connection sleep debt and the use of caffeine; this way, of measurements is easily justifiable (Bartely, 2008). The sleep model use ‘latency’ in computing ratios, and the predefinition in away demonstrates the requirement for a “stimulating environment when sleep debt is building up” (Galliard and Steyers, 1993). Further, it shows why the ratios in terms of accidents numbers are usually higher during night hours and often times at the beginning of the afternoon. Use of Caffeine, Sleep, and Performance On a broad scale, the use of caffeine has been associated with helping in recovering reduction in performance in night when one has no sleep and also ‘no sleep debt’, but this does not however have profound effect on the performance in relation to a situation of no sleep following a ‘build up of sleep debt’. The general observation is that very few people rarely recognize the risk in relation to the second situation (Musembwa, 2010). Indeed, many individuals the world over do not have a fuller understanding of using caffeine or coffee drinks and the dynamics involved in the use of some tablets. Scientifically, caffeine usually begins getting into the blood system in approximately 15 minutes, with the ultimate dose going at about one and a half hours after one takes the substance (Shneerson, 2000). Further, it should be noted that caffeine has often times had a lifespan of approximately 6 hours. Therefore, taking it when one is nearing bedtime affects the sleep and this is more empirically evidenced in the fact that REM becomes latent, reduces, and interferes with the quality of sleep in general when one is already in his or her bed. Alcohol on the other hand helps one to get to sleep but reduces the period of the onset of REM sleep (Musembwa, 2010). Caffeine is however, a very globally recognized way of decreasing the chances of risks associated with sleep, but even with its use, poor sleep management has been observed as causing individuals to have greater propensity of accidents at the workplace especially when two weeks have elapsed (Gaillard and Steyers, 1993). Sleep Apnea Sadly, the SLEEP model does not factor in sleep apnea in the present time. Sleep apnea is defined as a medical condition that makes individuals to wake up in between sleeps many times at night due to ‘partial or total blockage in breathing’. This condition usually decreases the Delta as well as REM sleep. Normally, sleep apnea is a condition that brings about total sleep durations decrease about five hours than normal, and thus has a more risk of suffering sleep related accidents at the workplace (Chiong T, 2006: Butkov and Chiong, 2007). Conclusion Obviously, sleep has a greater bearing on performance at the workplace and performance, with sleep build-up conditions correlating to accidents in the workplace. Use of substance does not help much because they function by giving out one thing with one hand and taking it with another. Indeed, the effect of caffeine among many other counter-measures has been observed to change with time. There is need for sleep education for workers and employers generally, and families should understand the graveness that come with sleep disorders and the lack of proper sleep in relation to work performance and the risk of accidents. Further policy interventions that limit employers in subjecting employees to environments that are accidents-prone should be avoided (Musembwa, 2010). More studies and sleep literature in relation to the condition apnea should be considered greatly, because observably, people who suffer this condition tend to be at an enhanced risk of having accidents or causing them altogether and performing dismally at the workplace as well. Sleep must be understood if its negative effects at the workplace and the injuries it portends are to be prevented or managed. References Babson, K. et al. (2010). A test of the effects of acute sleep deprivation on general and specific self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms: An experimental extension. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, Vol. 41, pp. 297- 303. Bartley, G. (2008). Traffic Accidents: Causes and Outcomes. NY: Nova Science Publishers. Butkov, N. and Chiong, T. (2007). Fundamentals of Sleep Technology. PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Chiong, T. (2006). Sleep: A comprehensive handbook. Denver: University of Colorado Health Sciences Centre. Gaillard, W. and Steyers, F. (1993). The Effects of Sleep Deprivation and Incentives on Human Performance. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Gregory, J. (2009). Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Agricultural Injury Incidents. Lubbock. Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:E7903lHQYuAJ:www.agsafetyandhealthnet.org/Gregory%2520Impact%2520of%2520Sleep%2520Deprivation%2520on%2520Agricultural%2520Injury%2520Incidents%2520_2_.pdf+Sleep+deprivation+cause+accidents&hl=en&gl=ke. Scott, J. P. et al. (2006). Effects of Sleep Deprivation and Exercise on Cognitive, Motor Performance and Mood. Physiology & Behavior, 87:396–408. Elsevier. Musembwa, M. (2010) Protection is Better Than Cure. NY: Xlibris Corporation. Plaford, G. (2000). Sleep and Learning: The magic that makes us healthy and Smart. Lahnham: Rowman Education. Shneerson, J. (2000). Handbook of Sleep Medicine. London: Blackwell Limited. Read More